The Dallas Cowboys could be in need of some emergency quarterback help after Dak Prescott suffered an injury against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers on Sunday Night Football. Prescott apparently suffered an injury to his throwing hand “above the thumb, behind the joint.”
Whatever the official diagnosis is here, Prescott needs to have the injury surgically repaired which leaves the Cowboys in a rather precarious situation. As of last week, Prescott was the only quarterback on the Cowboys’ roster. No, seriously. They had Cooper Rush on the gameday roster but he was called up from the practice squad. The Cowboys literally don’t have anyone they believe is worthy of a 53-man roster spot at the QB position besides Dak Prescott.
Yikes.
Dallas Cowboys need immediate reinforcements at the QB position
The Cowboys are now 0-1 after an ugly loss at home to the Bucs. They now have to move forward “multiple weeks” without Dak Prescott, a very vague timeline for a surgically repaired part of your hand. They clearly are struggling at the wide receiver position. Yes, it’s just one week, but some of the issues we saw come up with the Cowboys’ offense were anticipated coming into this season.
Without Dak Prescott, this team is in serious trouble. Who could they get to replace him for the time being? Here are three options that might be the best available to them.
1. Josh Johnson (Denver Broncos practice squad)
The Denver Broncos and Dallas Cowboys held joint practices earlier this offseason in Denver. The Cowboys got the chance to see veteran Josh Johnson up close and personal for a few days and Johnson actually made some of his best throws of the preseason against the Cowboys. The Broncos went with Brett Rypien as their primary backup, so Johnson is currently on the practice squad in Denver.
There’s no doubt that he would be a better starting option than Cooper Rush, even though Rush has a better knowledge and understanding of the offense at this point. Johnson showed last year that he can step in at virtually a moment’s notice and play pretty well.
This would be the cheapest move I have on the list, but it might be the quickest solution for the Cowboys.
Could the Dallas Cowboys trade for Jimmy Garoppolo?
The Dallas Cowboys should seriously consider a trade for Jimmy Garoppolo. The Cowboys have an NFC East title to defend. The Philadelphia Eagles, New York Giants, and Washington Commanders all won their Week 1 matchups. Yes, it’s just one game, but the Cowboys are already one game behind and now their best player offensively is going to miss multiple games?
Not good.
The Cowboys, if anyone, need to trade for Jimmy Garoppolo. Garoppolo recently restructured his contract to stick around with the 49ers instead of getting cut, and these two parties — Garoppolo and the 49ers — almost undoubtedly had a plan in place in case something like this were to happen. Meaning, that if a team suffered an injury at quarterback, the 49ers would have a better chance of trading Garoppolo during the season than they did before the season at his higher price tag.
Garoppolo carries a $6.5 million base salary and a lot of roster-related incentives, but is this a move that is financially really worth it for the Cowboys? By the time Garoppolo gets up to speed with the offense, won’t Prescott just be back in the lineup?
First of all, it’s tough to predict how quickly Prescott is going to come back from the injury right now and it’s also worth wondering how much losing the Cowboys are willing to tolerate. This is a team that won the NFC East last year and has huge expectations, so I don’t think they can afford not to call John Lynch up and ask him what it might take in terms of draft pick compensation to get a deal like this done.
Dallas Cowboys could consider signing Cam Newton
Look, desperate times call for desperate measures. I’m not sure why so many NFL fan bases are so vehemently against signing Cam Newton, but I don’t think this is actually a bad idea.
Although Cam Newton is not the same player that won the MVP award in 2015 as a member of the Carolina Panthers, he is absolutely a more worthwhile option than Cooper Rush at this point. Newton started a handful of games for the Carolina Panthers last year and could definitely come into Dallas, quickly get up to speed with some of the basics in the offense, and help keep the offense at least a little more balanced.
The Cowboys are going to have to heavily lean on their running game with Zeke Elliott and Tony Pollard at this point, and I think Newton can really help the run game shine, at least as we’re talking about making the best out of a bad situation.
The Cowboys probably wouldn’t have to break the bank to get Newton in the fold, relatively speaking, and what I like the most about this move is that there is very little downside.
If Newton doesn’t work out, the Cowboys’ QB situation was going to be bad anyway, so who really cares?
If he’s good, you have a couple of options. First of all, you can allow Prescott all the time he truly needs to heal up. Second, if Newton succeeds, it keeps your playoff hopes alive. Third, he’s a much better backup option over the long haul of this season than anything else the Cowboys have at the moment.